Conceptualising preschool dual-language immersion education at Bobcat Canyon School

ABSTRACT

This study examined how parents, teachers, and administrators conceptualised dual-language immersion (DLI) education and its goals at Bobcat Canyon School (BCS, pseudonym), a private preschool in the Southwestern USA where 64% students were White and 36% were students of colour. Through interviews with 15 parents, eight teachers, and two school administrators, the study exposed a conceptual confusion among the school community about what DLI education is and that BCS advertised a DLI brand without appropriate understanding and implementation. The analysis revealed that with a framework of neoliberal linguistic instrumentalism, the preschool conceptualised its DLI as an enriching context for students to obtain a cognitive, social, and academic edge. Cognitive development, social competencies, and school readiness were primary goals while bilingualism/biliteracy was a secondary bonus if achieved. The study exposed the need for the field to establish unique objectives and models of DLI at the preschool level and educate all stakeholders on the short- and long-term effects of DLI education. The study calls for promoting the historical mission of DLI in private programs and all existing DLI programs to examine their conceptual underpinnings.

KEYWORDS:

• Dual-language immersion
• early education
• definition and goals
• language policy
• multilingualism

Acknowledgements

The author is indebted to the parents, teachers, and school administrators who participated in this study. Gratitude go to Professor Mary Carol Combs at the University of Arizona, USA, for her helpful suggestions on the first draft of the manuscript and especially to the anonymous reviewers and the editor of JMMD for their thoughtful and constructive comments on the earlier versions of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on ethics approval

The study (IRB 1704370526) was approved by the Human Subjects Protection Program at the University of Arizona.